Rage
by RedCheschireQueen
Summary: Anger has a funny way of staying just under the surface of a person. It takes a ripple to finally notice how such a strong emotion effects people, especially when you see how far a person is willing to go to satisfy their rage.
1. 1-Snatch

**Rage**

_Chapter one: Snatch_

At 15, I really should have done something by now. Training, Contesting- as a kid, I never even signed up. I would chalk it up to a personality flaw than anything else. I don't like to change anything, stick to the status quo of being the kid that delivers Pokémon. 5 years of ferrying Pokémon from my mother's lab to the Pokémon centre and back. It's not the worst thing in the world. I see the city from the ground by the day, riding on my bike with a dozen or so poke balls in my basket and by night I'm staring down from one of the numerous skyscrapers, usually alone since mum was always at the lab.

Well, not technically alone. There was Grim, my Uncles wounded Absol. Some wounds even a Pokémon centre can't heal immediately so he was staying here in the city with us until he was. He limped a lot, and I think his injury was a lot more than his hind leg but I never asked. He was like a silent roommate that soon became a little to addicted to day time tv.

Today, it was a special batch of poke balls, I could tell. They were mostly ultra-balls, two great-balls mixed with them tipping me off that they were unusually high levelled for the lab to be dealing with. I'm not sure what the Lab was doing, my uncle studied Pokémon moves, how they vary from Pokémon to Pokémon and why some where shared and some not, he was usually out and about watching then in the wild. Mum was more of an indoors person, she studied Pokémon mental development.

I guessed these were some older caught from the wild Pokémon that were just caught that needed a heal up before being studied. From the Lab, I didn't even get to see mum before I was leaving with the new Pokémon to the Pokémon centre. Nurse Joy would have her work cut out for her this time around.

I saw Grim on the curb, tail up and aware and eyes transfixed to me. There were people around staring at him. I stuck my leg out to slow down and stop, staring to make sure it was actually him. That was the worst thing I could have done. I didn't see the car, but I heard it breaking.

Once, twice my body bounced of the pavement, my head connected with the ground one last time and I blacked out completely. I vaguely remember the crack of breaking bones, the faint screaming through the ringing of my ears.

When I woke up in hospital what I found to be a week later, I felt numb and heavy. The heavy part, I found out when I could focus my eyes was Grim, sitting vigilantly. The nurse, after the tests that I wasn't brain dead, told me everything in a gentle voice, and told me that Grim wouldn't leave me for a moment after the car hit me.

A leg broken in two places, five broken ribs, broken left arm, a broken collar bone and a fractured skull. It was a hell of a lot to survive in one go. I know by face is grazed, the bandages on my face indicated that much.

Time seemed to melt into nothing. Mum came to visit soon after I was cleared. She looked like she hadn't slept since I got hit, dark rings under her eyes, with an almost hollow look to them.

"I'm glad you're okay." She told me, holding my hands tight. They were soft. She hastily filled me in on what happened afterwards. Two people got out of the car, the driver remaining inside reversing to get away in the opposite direction, when he was done with the U turn, the other two had scooped up the majority of the shattered poke balls.

It was too quick for anyone to stop them, but someone had called for an ambulance when people realized I wasn't going to get up.

I felt my stomach turn. I had been run down for the poke balls in my basket. Someone had known me, watched me take my routes and waited for me. I felt so much guilt for things that just weren't in my hands, mum feeling horrible, the Pokémon stolen. She hugged me for the first time in a very long time when I sat up. She assured me it wasn't my fault, that bad people were to blame.

I stopped feeling guilt after the police asked me to make a statement. This wasn't an isolated incident. This was slowly becoming more and more common. Trainers were getting ambushed and their Pokémon taken, sometimes they survived the encounter. I was one of those lucky people.

The guilt I harboured in my gut boiled into anger. Who would be run over next? A ten year old with a rare Pokémon? How about old trainers that have long retired having their longest friends stolen away? The police told me nothing about who was doing it. They offhandedly ruled out Team Magma and Team Aqua, saying they disbanded a couple of years ago local gangs were off the list since a hit and run wasn't their style, especially in broad daylight and while it was Team Rocket's MO, they weren't any reports of them being in the country.

I felt heat in my body, like a fire had been lit just under my heart. Emotions I'm not used to feeling tightening inside like a Seviper death grip.

"Guess we match, huh buddy?" I tried smiling when mum after visiting hours ended but felt the musles in my face didn't like it. Grim was allowed to stay since he was so hard to get rid of willingly, and I guess mum wanted someone to stay with me. "I know you tried to warn me, I should have thought faster."

He refused to meet my gaze.

**961 words- I should tell you guys that I'm having a Wager with Mr Scrone. First to 50,000 has drinks brought by the loser next get together.**

**And I'm totally going to win :D**


	2. 2- Grugde

_Chapter two: Grudge._

Enough was enough. I've spent three months recovering and stewing and going mad at the time on my hands. I couldn't ride my bike without feeling dizzy, so my delivery days were over. Sometimes I would drop into the Pokémon centre to have Grim checked up on, chat with Nurse Joy.

My hair had been cut off to put stitches in my head. For a few days, I didn't leave the house, self-conscious about people looking at me, pointing me out to one another, whispering '_that's her, the one that got run over, __**the one that let the Pokémon get taken-**_'

Mum fixed that with a knitted hat. Dr Cox's grandmother heard of the incident and had seen me at the hospital when I was first taken in and had been knitting an Absol themed beanie since then. I hadn't taken it off since I got it.

It seemed the Hat had been one of the highlights of my recovery, most of the time I slept, went to doctor's appointments and when I felt good went to have coffee with friends. It had been difficult to let them see me with the stitched and broken bones and bruise, but eventually, it was like nothing happened.

Grim sat at the side of my chair, dozing in the sunlight. It had been a long time since Janice, bobby and I sat together as a group and talked. They still spoke quietly to each other when they thought I was distracted, and each time they did I felt a little more distant then the couple of feet between our chairs.

"I hear Marsha is coming back home." Bobby said, barely touching his coffee the entire time. He reminded me a lot of a Flygon, Green clothes, slicked back dark hair with red googles, He told us once it wasn't intentional, and we believed him until he actually caught one. He stopped training after a year, collecting a handful of badges before coming back home and started to do deliveries too, only over towns.

Janice was a little less Pokémon themed. She liked her blues and had blonde hair kept together in a white hairband. She never went training, deciding on a career that didn't involve venturing out into the wild. She currently minded a Pokémon shop where she sold potions and pokeballs.

"Oh, why so soon before the championships?" I asked, it had taken her the better part of three years to get to her level of champion, even sticking the title for two weeks before getting dethroned. After that, she couldn't go back to regular training since she and her Pokémon had gotten so powerful and travelled to compete in different leagues.

"Yeah, she wanted to catch up, she's been in Janto for so long, her parents basically demanded she come home for a party." Janice confirmed, stirring her coffee after adding more sugar.

"Oh, not for her friends?" Bobby asked in an innocent voice, but the way Janice glared at him it didn't go under her radar. I had forgotten the animosity between Bobby and Marsha from when they first started training, and little love was lost between them when Bobby dropped out. I didn't know many details about it, but I know the last time she was in the city it almost came to blows.

"Don't start that now." The sudden change in Janice's tone made me double take. It was just a twitch my way that things clicked together. _"Not in front of Morgan."_ Her gaze in her words loud and clear.

"Fine." Bobby grumbled, leaning back in his chair and leaving us in a silence. I wanted to scream that I wasn't some fragile vase. That nothing changed, that I was still the same person- being slightly broken in places shouldn't warrant their behaviour change.

But I _had_ changed. I needed the help of a cane to walk and felt so old doing so, how many fifteen year olds walk with canes? I hated the staring; I hated everything about what happened. I never screamed, I stayed quiet and sipped on my coffee.

**_LineBreak_**

I was still thinking about long after I had tucked into bed and staring up at the ceiling. Grim at one point left the room and I could hear him quietly pat around the apartment. He seemed more and more restless as the weeks went by and I couldn't figure out why. Even Nurse Joy had difficulty explaining his behaviour. At one point Mum called my uncle, who wasn't even in the country anymore to ask about Grim's behaviour.

He called Grim being protective, and it fit into his Pokémon Nature, only he was concentrating on me than anything wide scale. Grim had always been a little unusual for a Absol, I know that there were only about 8 people nationwide that had Absols and even less that trained them.

When I couldn't sleep, I thought of things to make things better. People had to pay for this, the people that put me in hospital for a dozen Pokémon, the people that put me out of commission that put me out of my job that have **_ruined my life._**

I heard Grim growl and I bolted up from sleep, not even knowing I had eventually dozed off. Two yellow eyes started at me thought the dark. I reached for my lamp and nearly tugged the switch on hard enough to send the lamp crashing down. Grim stood at the doorway, looking ready to bite the intruder into two.

"Gawh!" I sputtered out. Jumping up and standing on my bed. The Pokémon became more visible, knowing that it was caught. It was the size of my head, with a horn and seemed to me covered in a purple sheet. "A Shuppet?" I recognized the Pokémon from seeing them around the city. They weren't uncommon, but ti was still a surprise to see one, especially one floating in my room.

It buzzed around, seeming to be mortified at being caught and keeping to the corner away from a growling Grim. I was glad that this Appartment building didn't skimp out on thick walls and that for the first time since the hit that mum wasn't home or my screaming would have drawn attention.

Grim was waiting for a command. He had spent years as a trainer's Pokémon, he had it integrated into his head that he needed someone to tell him to fight. I had never told a Pokémon to battle before; I didn't even know Grim's skill set! I thought back to when my uncle battled him and I had watched on and cured myself for not paying attention when I came up with blanks.

"Grim, scare it!" I blurted out, he seemed to try and match it to something he knew for a second, before I recognized the stare of a Leer attack directed at the ghost Pokémon. The Shuppet gave what closely resembled a shriek and phased quickly through a wall to flee.

A moment passed, and then another while the sudden rush of adrenaline faded and left my stomach feeling hollow. Absol trotted over to the window and peered out, growling softly while looking around. My mind was reeling at what just happened and what felt like a sign from whatever entity existed and watched over us.

"I know what I'm going to do." I said, grinning. The Absol tilted his head in confusion.

**_Linebreak_**

I stood at the registration booth with Grim at my side that very morning, trying not to look like I didn't belong. Every six months a group of ten year olds would come in and start their Pokémon Journey, some a little more successful than others like Marsha, others like Bobby came home after a while to do other things. Today was a long way off one of the two Journey days and aside from parents coming in asking for updates on their kids the centre was empty.

She tapped slowly on the computer to bring up information on Absol, he had long since been registered as a trainer Pokémon. I had to stand and didn't want it to show on my face how uncomfortable it was. I was told I was lucky that my pelvis wasn't shattered and my nerves were intact or I would have been in a wheelchair a lot longer than I was.

"Ah, Absol, nickname "Grim" Male, caught 10 years ago, approximate age 27." She frowned and I felt myself gulping. "Rather old, and would not met the requirements as a beginner trainer." I was afraid that this would happen, not only is Absol not a standard starter Pokémon from a lab, he's getting on in his years with a recently healed injury.

"Absol doesn't fight anymore," I insisted. "Can he come with me as long as I don't train with him? He's basically my service Pokémon."

And there it was, the little light or recognition in her eyes as she looked from Grim to my hat. _It's her._ Starting Centres, labs and Pokémon Centres were friendly with each other and worked together often, and having the Pokémon stolen and the person that got hit being the kid of one of the scientists of Rustboro would have been talked about, or mentioned at one point in the last couple of months.

"Your Absol can accompany you," I wanted to jump up with a fist in the air in joy. "But you will need to register a different Pokémon. Will you be taking the Shuppet as your starter instead?"

"_Shuppet?_" I turned around immediately and hovering over my shoulder was of course the ghost Pokémon. Grim barked in alarm at the sudden appearance of the little Pokémon. The Shuppet floated over to the registration woman.

"This one seems young; let me give them a check over for you." She said. I was too dumb folded to respond as she gave the Shuppet a check-up.

"Female, very young, less than five years old." She listed, the Shuppet nuzzled at her hand. "She's friendly, city Shuppet usually are."

I didn't say anything as she gave be an empty pokeball. The Shuppet tilted its head at it before tapping it lightly at the release button. In a flash of red light she disappeared and with little resistance the ball clicked with a successful capture.

"Are you going to let her out again?" I didn't want to, barely knowing what to think of the recent events. Grim still looked alarmed at the pokeball in my hands.

"Shuppet, come on out." I said, pointing the ball and closing my eyes. She appeared again, looking absolutely giddy at the thought of being out and circled around my head. The registration woman gave me everything I needed for a Pokémon journey, a pokedex, a map with a trainers card with my face and number on it.

It wasn't until I was walking to a Pokémon Store that I realized I should have put the Shuppet back into her pokeball, because she had disappeared. I tried calling for her, but she refused to show up. I wanted to ask why it felt so attached to me, but since I didn't speak Shuppet and she didn't speak Morgan I dropped it. Besides, Grim was the one I wanted with me, and it wasn't like I was intending to do any actual training.

**1,903 words- a little bit of a slow start but I'm working on it.**


	3. 3-Trick

**Quick note: I forgot to link to Mr Scrone Story, s/10417658/1/A-Bittersweet-Irony, check it out if you want, tell him I say hi.**

**Chapter three: Trick**

"I'm thinking of going through the caves, making my way to Vendaturf town to Mauville city." I said aloud with the map open on my knees. I had to sit down after two hours of walking. There was a small park near the heart of the city. Absol sat next to me, looking at the map himself. "If there is a criminal organization going on stealing Pokémon they would be sticking to cities, right? Or that's where they would be based." I sighed and looked up at the midday sky. Half a day into my grand new adventurous life and I was still at home. "I won't get answers here, people know me here. No one looks twice at a trainer, people think they're just there for the badge and high tail it for the next gym."

I was packed and ready; I just needed to figure out where I was going.

"We could go south through the woods." I suggested, pointing lower on the map to the large amount of green. "What do you think, getting lost in the woods with bug Pokémon or getting lost in the caves with Zubats?" Grim shook his head and I laughed at his reaction. "Either way, we have enough antidotes; I hope we're not going to need to use them that much."

"MORGAN." A familiar voice made me cringe. I looked up from my Map and to a very angry looking I tried acting innocent and waved awkwardly to her. She was having none of it and stomped over. "What are you planning?"

"How do you know I'm doing anything?" I asked, genuinely curious as to how she found out so quickly.

"You bought sprays from my boss's friend, who told my boss who told me about the Absol kid walking around." Damnit for a big city everyone seemed to know each other. "You can't go training _now_, you are nowhere near well enough to!"

"I'm not training."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Pretending too."

"… Morgan what are you doing?" She said expressly, I thought that since I was caught in the act I might as well be a little truthful.

"I'm planning on finding out who ran me over." I Declared, and it felt good to say it out loud. "There is something big going on and no one is getting anywhere with these cases, and in the meantime bodies are going to pile up."

I've been trying to keep up with the growing Pokémon threats. A majority were round the cities, sure, there were thefts on routes but they seemed to be based close to towns.

"I don't want your body added to the pile!" She breathed in heavily as she tried to even her temper. "This is even worst- did you even tell your mum you're going?"

"Yes!" I said, feeling insulted. "In a note."

"Morgan!" She had her hands over her face. "Get your ass back home you're not goin- AAAAH!" As she removed her hands from her face she was met with a Shuppet an inch away from her nose. She wasn't used to Pokémon herself, and her freak out gave me enough time to leg it.

"Sorry Janice, I got things to do!" Running was out of the question, hiding in plain sight was another thing. Leaving the park with her just a couple of metres behind me I ducked into the closest ally and found that the Shuppet hide us with a little dark cover. She peered into the alley for a moment before continuing her search.

"Thanks, Shuppet." I said after it was clear. Absol was eyeing the ghost suspiciously. The Shuppet ignored his gaze. I still didn't know what to make of the little spectral, but looking a gift horse in the Ponyta was bad luck. "We haven't thought of a name for you yet." The Shuppet seemed excited at the prospect. Absol tilted his head at me with a look that asked me 'are you serious?' "What? She is my starter, might as well welcome her to the family."

I turned back to the Shuppet. "Shadow? Or is that too cliché?" She stuck her tongue out at the name. "Fine, not Shadow then, you would have made it a lot easier on me." It was taking me a little longer then I cared to admit to think of anything else. "Lucky would be dumb… Jit."

If Absols and Shuppets had eyebrows they would have most likely been raised. "Just In Time, get it? Since you pretty much made things a lot easier with your appearance. J.I.T." The Shuppet was rolling around in the air like she was laughing. "Jitter?" She eventually nodded. "Okay, you like Jitter."

Grim make a choked sound and I was pretty sure he was glad I had not been in charge of naming him.

_Line Break_

I decided on Petelburg as our first destination after some thought. If people would steal Pokémon, they would have to know that the person they were stealing from had something special or it wasn't worth the hassle. Why take on a trainer and risk it? Well, these people played dirty with ambushes and hit and runs so a dirty tactic I thought of was camping out on either entrance of the forest and waiting on people that went in to catch new Pokémon and see what they caught.

It was a stretch, but it was something. I could have argued the same about going through the caves. I was going to make my way around and come back home through the caves if everything went as planned.

With a Dark Pokémon and a Ghost Pokémon I hit the jackpot if I didn't want people to talk to me. It took me less than an hour to have exited the city boundaries and crossing the bridge south. A couple of people were fishing, a couple of small kids playing with Pokémon. After a while I felt my leg start to hurt again and was finding I was missing my bike.

My cane didn't like the soft grass after the path ended, and I probably should have invested into better shoes for terrain, and not the comfort of stone roads. The woods started to loom over me, and I could hear the faint cricketing of unknown Bug Pokémon. Jitter took leave from my shadow and with the newly found shade started to freely move ahead of us. Grim stayed vigilantly at my side, I could still make out the faint reminder of his injury, I couldn't tell if it was close to healed or that he was for some reason hiding it.

There was enough light, but I was growing uncomfortable and took out my pokedex. I had scanned Grim a little after registering and was trying to learn his moves off by heart so I didn't stutter out another command I didn't know would work or not.

I heard a squeak from the ground and I jumped at the sound. A glimpse of red and a murky yellow scuttle along, if not for the red spots I don't think I would have been able to tell it apart from the dead leaves around it.

"Hello." I said softly, crouching down with effort. I rested the cane over my knees. The Pokémon seemed more annoyed then terrified, or, that might be its default looking face. "Sorry, I think I nearly stepped on you." It scampered away underneath a bush. "Aw, it's okay little guy."

For fun, I scanned the Shroomish and listened to the little mechanical voice of the pokedex. _"Shroomish, the mushroom Pokémon. Prefers damp, dark composted soil in forests. If they fell threatened they will release toxic spore from its body."_

Grim growled softly, warning me to stay back. He didn't have to say anything as I felt 'toxic spores' was enough of a warning. But in another moment I realized why.

"_ROOOM!_" A cry thundered, I heard the quick steps of something large coming my way from behind. I froze up. The situation too similar for it to be even remotely okay as I forced myself to turn to see the oncoming angry Pokémon coming my way, with an arm ready to throw a punch.

Grim intercepted the attack by leaping and biting down on the Pokémon's arm and throwing it of course. Shuppet shrieked out and hid behind me, the little Shroomish nowhere to be seen.

"Okay, that's the mama!" I thought of an attack plan as I scrambled away until my back hit a tree. "Grim, razor wind!" Grim moved his head and the blade on his head glowed, a wind picked up and I could see the damage that the attack did with invisible blows hit the Pokémon. It shrugged it off and charged forward, uppercutting Grim and sending him up and back.

"BRELOOM!" the Pokémon cried out. Grim got back to his feet and dodged a. I know he's faster than a normal Absol from my Uncle's training, if he hadn't been I'm sure he would have been hit again.

"We have to stop her using any spore attacks, Taunt!" I'm glad I remembered that. After the snarl from Grim the Breloom hollered in response, tackling Grim down. Grim scratched at the Breloom, making it back away.

Jitter head-butted my hands that were clamped on the pokedex like a life line. I took the message and quickly scanned the Breloom, I had to be smart and fight smart there had to be something to help. I didn't think I would actually be fighting wold Pokémon, I only thought of other trainers would be the bigger cause of concern. And Zubats. Zubats were always a concern.

"Dark's not good against Fighting types!" I remembered. A horror setting into my chest, I could see that Grim was wearing down quickly from the Brelooms attacks. "Grim, Quick attack then stall for me!" Grim was fast knocking the Breloom back hard. "Jitter!" I scanned her quickly, hoping that Grim could last a little longer evading the Breloom's attack after dazing it slightly. I skipped the little summery and went straight to what she would most likely know.

Grim fell and I cried out in alarm, orange powder clung to his fur and I recognized he was fighting paralysis. How could he have? We used Taunt to make sure that didn't happen- The head butt, that would have made spores come into contact with Grim. I frantically thought of something as the Breloom turned to Jitter and me, I wouldn't be able to move in time to get away, even if I could, I wasn't leaving Grim.

Fire. The Breloom would be bad against fire. I faintly remembered that Shuppet's had one fire attack they knew naturally. I swallowed hard and hoped that she knew it. The Breloom charged at us, I was standing with Jitter floating in front of me, waiting for my command.

"Jitter, Will o' Wisp!" I shouted. Blue fire escaped her lips like she was blowing bubbles and hit the Breloom in the stomach area. Instantly, a burn appeared and the Pokémon cried out in agony. I winced at the sound.

It was now a test of endurance. Jitter danced around the Breloom's head, letting it wear itself down and the burn doing most of the work. I moved to Grim, trying to brush the spores out of his fur to lessen the effects. I felt my own hands numb, but he began to move again. He jumped forward, making the final blow and knocking the Breloom down. It didn't get back up and what sounded like a defeated groan emitted from the Pokémon.

I sighed out in relief and found myself smiling. I won my first Pokémon battle. The victory was like a high, but I felt myself come down from it when I saw the little Shroomish come out form it's hiding spot and nuzzle it's downed parent. Leaving them here like this made them wide open to attacks from anyone, trainers, wild Pokémon. The little Shroomish needed its mother to protect them.

"I can't leave them like this…" Grim read my intend loud and clear and sat down to have a rest, the Shuppet circled my head, confused as I pulled a spray out of my bag. I had a single burn heal, I didn't think I would be running into any fire Pokémon this route, but I was glad I had the one. The Shroomish looked mortified when I knelt down and applied the burn heal. I could see the effects start to take hold, not to quickly though, it faded from the black mark to a dark brown and getting lighter in colour. I had to use all of it or it would have been an even slower process, and I'm sure the both of them would appreciate the speed.

"Let' go before she gets up." I said, grunting as I stood and lent on my cane. I pulled a pokeball of my belt and pointed it to Grim. "I need to put you in your Ball until we're clear, you okay with that?" He made a sound I was pretty sure was a scowl. He got back up with his nose in the air and came to my side like nothing had happened. "Fine, limp around. Not like you're normal and need to rest anyway." I grumbled.

I hadn't noticed beforehand, but it had been getting dark. I wasn't feeling scared anymore, I had a Ghost Pokémon, and a Dark Pokémon. Other than the Breloom I don't think there was anything to be afraid off.

2,274

**I love that they ran into one of the only Pokémon in that forest that would have given them grief, Newton's law and all that. I bet you thought the Breloom was joining the team, huh Scrone?**

**Edit: I spent 2 hours looking at Breloom's wiki page and I swear to god I didn't notice the spelling ONCE.**


End file.
